Children's clothing retailer Gymboree Group Inc. is expected to seek bankruptcy protection for the second time in less than two years, which could lead to the shuttering of several stores in North Jersey.

The company operates several locations across North Jersey, including stores in Paramus, Wayne and Hackensack. The company's brands include Gymboree, Janie and Jack, and Crazy 8.

Gymboree has stores listed at Paramus Park, Westfield Garden State Plaza and Willowbrook Mall, and an outlet store at The Outlets at Bergen Town Center. There is also a Crazy 8 store at Paramus Park, and Janie and Jack stores at The Shops at Riverside and Westfield Garden State Plaza.

In December, the company announced it would begin a strategic review of its three brands. At that time, the company said it was evaluating the retail footprint of its Crazy 8 and Gymboree brands, with the intent of closing the company's Crazy 8 stores and significantly reducing its Gymboree locations.

Shaz Kahng, Gymboree Group's chief executive, said in a statement announcing the plan last month that the review was "designed to reposition the Company for success by establishing a brand portfolio and store footprint that is optimized for the current retail environment."

The Gymboree store at The Shops at Riverside in Hackensack is one of seven in New Jersey that are going out of business.(Photo11: northjersey.com)

One person familiar with the matter told The Wall Street Journal that, while Gymboree is expected to liquidate, the fate of its Janie and Jack stores is up in the air. A source told CNBC the retailer is trying to sell that brand, which could save the brand's roughly 139-store footprint.

Gymboree first filed for bankruptcy in 2017, leading to the closure of about 350 of its 1,281 locations — most of them Gymboree stores. The company now operates an estimated 900 retail stores in the United States and Canada under its three brands, according to its corporate website.

In 2017, the chain closed seven Gymboree stores in New Jersey, including one in Hackensack, as a result of its first bankruptcy restructuring.

The Gymboree in Hackensack was the only location in North Jersey to close that year. However, Gymborees also shuttered in Eatontown, Edison, Hamilton, Mays Landing, Sea Girt and Short Hills.

Gymboree, which is based in San Francisco, was born in the 1970s as a company that offered music and activity classes for toddlers and parents. It then capitalized on the Gymboree name to launch a chain of children's clothing stores in the 1980s.